Fabula
Object
Object

Stabilizer Gelignite Box

A weathered wooden box, its hinges loose and lid slightly ajar, reveals its dangerous contents: sticks of unstable gelignite wrapped in oilcloth. Sarah Jane Smith finds it on an upper shelf of the poacher’s hut, its rough edges catching against the shelf as she pulls it free. The Doctor immediately grasps its volatility, rejecting traditional detonators as suitable tools—its instability demands immediate, dangerous improvisation under the hut’s dim lantern light. The box’s contents shift precariously as it’s passed between them, each stick trembling with unseen threat.
4 appearances

Purpose

To store and transport unstable explosives for demolition purposes.

Significance

Serves as the critical tool for an initially plausible sabotage plan that collapses under the dual pressures of its inherent volatility and Sutekh’s psychic intervention. Sarah’s momentary triumph in obtaining the gelignite is swiftly undermined by its extreme instability, forcing a pivot to direct confrontation with Sutekh.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

4 moments
S13E8 · Planet of Evil Part 4
Vishinsky seizes control as Antimen breach cupboard

Comprising the sole lifeline against the Antimen's intrusion, Vishinsky seizes the Forcefield Control Box mid-breach, its flickering lights a frantic pulse mirroring the collapsing forcefield. The box's metallic housing groans under his grip, wires straining as he repurposes it from a failing stabilizer to a shield against antimatter corruption, transferring its weight from the cupboard's rack to his arms with deliberate urgency.

Before: Located precariously in the cupboard's upper brackets, its casing warped from antimatter bleed-through and its status panel flickering erratically.
After: Clutched tightly in Vishinsky's hands, exposed cables threatening to snag on equipment as he pivots to reposition it, its stabilizers briefly reactivating to brace against the breach.
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S13E11 · Pyramids of Mars Part 3
Desperate salvage of unstable gelignite

Sarah discovers and retrieves the box containing sweaty gelignite from the upper shelf of the hutch, then immediately hands it off to the Doctor for inspection. Its visible instability and acrid scent force a critical reassessment of the sabotage plan, making it both the hinge of hope and the source of danger.

Before: Sealed in a weathered wooden ammunition box on the poacher’s hut shelf, brittle and volatile with age
After: Exposed and identified as too dangerous to handle directly, carefully repositioned on the floor to avoid accidental detonation
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S13E11 · Pyramids of Mars Part 3
Sabotage fails under Sutekhs mental grip

The stabilizer gelignite is planted within the projection dome as part of the sabotage plan. Sarah detonates it, expecting irreversible damage, but Sutekh’s psychic powers reverse the explosion, neutralizing the threat and leaving the missile intact.

Before: Ready to be detonated by Sarah
After: Explosion reversed by Sutekh’s psychic intervention, leaving the missile unharmed
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S13E11 · Pyramids of Mars Part 3
Doctor shifts from sabotage to direct attack

Sarah sets aside the rifle and carries the gelignite box to the stable doorway where she initiates a critical sabotage attempt. The unstable contents quiver as she manipulates them under urgent hands. The explosion fails when Sutekh counters with psychic force, turning the blast back on itself in a surreal reversal.

Before: Stored on an upper shelf of the poacher’s hut, slightly ajar, volatile contents partially visible
After: Used in failed sabotage attempt; contents inverted mid-detonation before returning to inert state
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